Understand the system | Child-welfare investigators just knocked on my door. What do I do now?

A visit from an Arizona Department of Child Safety investigator would naturally alarm almost any parent.

Here are things parents should know about their rights, as well as advice from groups that take a more skeptical view of that knock on the door.

If DCS plans to take away your child

The DCS investigator must inform the child's parent, guardian or custodian of their rights, which include:

A right to be told the specific allegation.

A right to appeal.

An explanation that the investigator cannot compel the parent to cooperate with the investigation, nor to accept any social services offered.

If the DCS investigator determines he or she must remove the child, the family is given a temporary custody notice.

Can DCS come into my home?

They can, if you let them.

Parents have a right to not consent to an interview with a DCS caseworker, but the agency may proceed with an investigation anyway if the investigator believes there is a risk to the child.

Attorneys who represent families generally advise parents to not let DCS into their homes on the initial visit unless investigators have a court order.

In the past, such orders have not been common, even though proponents argued the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that prohibits search and seizure requires them.

Beginning July 1, DCS investigators will need an order from the Juvenile Court to remove a child.

There will be exceptions for urgent cases; those details are still being worked out in pending state legislation.

Can DCS talk to my child without my permission?

Yes, state law allows this. Investigators also can talk to the siblings of the alleged victim without parental permission. This often happens at the children's school, which DCS considers a neutral location.